He reckoned that the added pressure of captaincy may affect Gill's batting.
Ahead of the India tour of England, the BCCI appointed Shubman Gill as a full-time Test skipper. Citing the fact that Gill is young and raw, things will be difficult for him when he steps out on the field, carrying the leadership onus against the formidable English side. Sharing his two cents, Ricky Ponting has evaluated whether Gill is the right choice as a leader. As per the former Australian skipper, the Punjab-based batter should think about batting at number four in the upcoming five-match Test series in England starting June 20.
Initially, Gill started as an opening batter in Tests and then shifted his base to number three due to unimpressive stats. He has scored maximum runs from the No.3 position, 1,019 out of the total 1,893 runs in 59 outings. Gill is yet to bat at a spot lower than one down in his international career across formats. However, he is likely to fill the void of Virat Kohli, who recently announced his Test retirement.
“If they go with [Yashasvi] Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan as openers, they need someone more experienced at No.3, maybe KL Rahul or Karun Nair. That would allow Shubman to bat at four,” Ponting dissected.
To add to Gill’s list of concerns, the 25-year-old holds a poor average on English soil. Playing just three Tests, Gill has made 88 runs, averaging below 15.
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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 noted Gill’s batting in two different formats of the sport. During the T20 league, the Gujarat Titans’ skipper amassed 650 runs in 15 games at a strike rate of 155.87. He struck six fifties at the top of the order.
“His white-ball form has been incredibly good. But he’s got a little bit of work to do on his Test match batting. And that’s never easy when you’re a new captain, to have to worry about your batting to the degree that he’s going to have to. It won’t be easy for him. I think it’s more his mental application. There’s nothing wrong technically. But sometimes, he might get ahead of himself or a little lazy during an innings. You’ve got to be 100% committed for every ball, for six or seven hours of the day. That’s the challenge for Shubman”, Ponting told PTI.
The PBKS coach went on to compare Gill to legendary opener Virender Sehwag with respect to their batting techniques.
He said, “Some great Test players didn’t have great defensive games. But if you’re in control of your strokeplay, that’s less of a worry. Defence is important, but mindset matters more.”
Ponting also spoke about how Gill is the future of Indian cricket. Taking over the captaincy reins from Rohit Sharma, Gill has a long career ahead of him.
“He just seems the sort of guy that the extra responsibility wouldn’t faze too much. He’s got a really level head on his shoulders. He’s someone who’s going to be around Indian cricket for another 10 years,” he added.
Gill’s first assignment as India Test captain will begin on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. The squad comprises not just a new captain, but a relatively younger squad compared to India’s last game in whites during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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